This activity guides the analysis of a published scientific figure from a study involving illegal elephant poaching. In this study, scientists used DNA profiling to determine where ivory seized from poachers had originated.

Each year, as many as 50,000 African elephants are killed for their ivory tusks. Scientists can identity elephant poaching hotspots by matching the genetic profiles of ivory seized from poachers to those of different elephant populations. The figure shows locations where elephants were likely to have been poached between 2006 and 2014. The “Educator Materials” document includes a captioned figure, background information, graph interpretation, and discussion questions. The “Student Handout” includes a captioned figure and background information.